CENSUS UPDATE UPBEAT

State officials estimate Cape Girardeau county grew by 1,685 people between 1990 and July 1992.

The 2.7 percent estimated growth ranks the county 30th in growth rate among Missouri's 115 counties and the city of St. Louis.

Missouri's statewide population through July 1993 is estimated to have grown by 117,000 people.

The population estimates were released last week by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the Missouri Office of Administration.

Ryan Burson, Missouri state demographer, said the state's 2.3 percent rate of growth is "as great as any comparable three-year period since the early 1970s."

He said Missouri county population estimates, which lag a year behind the total state population figures, reveal significant shifts in population between 1990 and 1992.

"The overall pattern of population change in the state since 1990 is one of continued high growth in metropolitan fringe counties and in the Ozarks," he said. "At the same time, there is moderate new growth in some rural area in northern and southern Missouri."

That includes Cape Girardeau County, which had the highest rate of growth in Southeast Missouri.

In the immediate area, Bollinger, Scott and Stoddard counties showed slight growth.

Perry County was one 13 counties in the state that showed a "turn around." While population in the county declined in the 1980s, the population is up 1.1 percent in the first two years this decade.

Large agricultural areas in the Bootheel and northern Missouri continue to suffer population loss, Burson said. In the Bootheel, population declined in Dunklin, Mississippi and Pemiscot counties.

Burson said the annual population estimates enable government planners and private planners and developers to track population trends.

"This is really the only chance that they get to look at the most basic changes in population makeup between the census every 10 years," he said. "The kind of people who use these estimates include corrections planning, social services, education, the highway department and city and county planners who need to stay abreast of changes in their client base."

Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep said that since voters ended county-wide planning and zoning in 1992, the population estimates are less crucial.

"We watch it," he said. "But I think it's more a morale shot in the arm than anything."

Huckstep said he expected growth of about 1,300 or 1,400 county residents between 1990 and 1992. "The official estimate is a little better for two years than I expected," he said. "I feel pretty good about it. There's always a sense of optimism if you're growing."

The July 1992 estimates for cities in Missouri are expected to come out within a couple of weeks, Burson said.

Cape Girardeau City Planner Kent Bratton said they are something city officials "keep a pretty close eye on."

Bratton said the city keeps track of the city's growth, but the state figures provide a good check to ensure a more accurate estimate.

Cape Girardeau has good reason to keep tabs on growth. After the 1990 census, the city's population of 34,438 was well below what city officials expected.

Cities of 35,000 or more are able by state law to exercise planning and zoning rights in a small belt outside the city limits.

Cape Girardeau City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said that's important for a city that's looking to expand through annexation.

"If you can have extra-territorial zoning then you can ensure streets and sewers are developed properly in areas that abut the city limits," Fischer said. "That way, if the city's ever in a position to annex, it becomes a more orderly and efficient process."

Burson said Cape Girardeau officials can sanction a special census count if they believe population exceeds the 35,000 threshold.

But Bratton said that based on the 1990 census count, there still aren't 35,000 people in Cape Girardeau. And, he added, there's no guarantee the city would be any more satisfied with a special census count than it was with the 1990 effort.

"I think we're still a couple hundred short," Bratton said. "The problem is, you could spend $60,000 or $70,000 to get a special count and still fall short."

The national estimated growth rate is 3.7 percent between April 1990 and July 1993. Growth again is greatest in the South and West. Nevada led all states with a 15.6 percent growth rate, followed by Idaho, 9.1 percent, Alaska, 8.9 percent, and Colorado, 8.3 percent.

Four states lost population: Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Dakota and Rhode Island.